Galatians 5:19-21
Now the actions of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, promiscuity, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, rivalry, jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, envy, murder, drunkenness, wild partying, and things like that. I am telling you now, as I have told you in the past, that people who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good ness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.
At times, I am faced with situations in my life and in the lives of people I lead that are difficult. Not because I or they are purposely or intentionally trying to be difficult, but because we are products of an inner war that Paul expresses so wonderfully in his letters. In Romans, he speaks of a conflict where we know what is right yet do not do it, and speaks of us knowing what is wrong yet doing it. This struggle between allegiance to a flesh which leads to destruction and sin and a Spirit which seeks life and holiness.
We see here in Galatians, he is speaking to a people group that has been invaded by those that would turn people away from the Grace of God that empowers us to live a life foreign to our past understanding. A focus on the exterior and ritual; on managing the flesh or living in submission to the Spirit.
I know we (the assemblies of God) see the evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit in the speaking of other tongues, but I have began recently to ask the question posed by a friend a while back to me:
If we see that, yet not the fruit of the Spirit, what are we really seeing?
We can easily check the "don't do it box" to many of the first list of flesh actions. Sexual immorality, check! Impurity, check! Promiscuity, check! Idolatry, check! Witchcraft, check! Then, we get to hatred......well it's happened. Rivalry.....maybe. Jealously, outbursts of anger, quarrels, conflicts, factions, envy........okay so maybe there's something going on here!
These things happen in our encounters with other believers more than I think we would like to admit, but what creates this? Is this part of who we are....our identity? No! These are products of a flesh that is in rebellion to the Spirit of God. A flesh that feeds on past hurts, let downs, and feelings of insecurity and mistrust. I find it interesting that it says, "Now the actions of the flesh are obvious!" We know and can see the flesh at work because when the flesh is at work we see destruction in its wake, but the fruit of the spirit maybe is a little more subtle?
We are no longer like the unbeliever, veiled in a lie. We have experienced the love and grace of God and are with out excuse. We must recognize that we have a choice. Do we live controlled by our need to be right, in charge, heard, or vindicated, or do we answer this call to live like Jesus? Ready to take a curse for others blessing?
The question is:
Where do find our identity, empowerment, and leading?
Maybe you have never been told this. Maybe I never fully realized this, but those characteristics Paul is speaking of, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, good ness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, are already in you and me! We don't have to somehow work hard to achieve them. If Jesus is your Lord and you have been inhabited by the Holy Spirit, you posses each one of those wonderful characteristics already!!
But..........
In the grace and wisdom of God, He has given me and you the choice who we will follow. Are we choosing to be bringers of life or death? Light or dark? Grace or condemnation?
The answer is:
Our identity is in Jesus. Our empowerment comes by His name. Our leading by His Holy Spirit.
We find a hard truth in scripture just before these lists.
Galatians 5:14-17
For the whole law is summarized in a single statement: "You must love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, be careful that you are not destroyed by each other. So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will never fulfill the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh wants is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit wants is opposed to the flesh. They are opposed to each other, and so you do not do what you want to do.
We scream for revival.....the Holy Spirit whispers love one another. If we desire to see the Spirit of the living God move among us, we must live by His leading bearing the fruit of that same Spirit. If we choose to live by the flesh, we stand opposed to the Spirit.
Let's choose life :-)
- Posted in the moment
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